It could cost up to $2.2 billion and take up to 50 years to totally eliminate sewage spills from the Ottawa River.
That’s the most costly and time consuming of three options of the Ottawa River Action Plan discussed Monday evening at a public meeting at Lansdowne Park.
The other two option are considerably cheaper and could be completed much sooner.
The cheapest and fastest option would cost up to $60 million and take five years.
This plan would add storage capacity to the combined sewer system to hold surplus flows during rainfall to prevent it from overflowing to the Ottawa River. The storage facilities would likely consist of underground storage tanks situated downtown.
The middle option could cost up to $140 million and take up to six years. It would have more storage capacity than the cheaper option. The extra storage would allow water to flow west to east near the shoreline, possibly extending as far as the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre treatment plant.
The most expensive option would involve separating all the existing combined sewer systems over the next 30 to 50 years.
Feedback on which option residents find the most sustainable — economically, environmentally and socially — will be gathered at upcoming meetings and through an online survey.
The next meeting is Nov. 26 at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre.
